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No VAT, Excise Tax increase for the next five years

20 Feb, 2018 | Posted by Admin

he UAE has ruled out increasing value-added tax (VAT) and excise tax over the next five years, said Obaid Al Tayer, UAE's Minister of State for Financial Affairs.
The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, implemented five per cent VAT and increased excise tax by 50 per cent on energy and carbonated drinks and doubled on tobacco products.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Arab Fiscal Forum held in Dubai on Saturday, Al Tayer noted that he doesn't "expect increasing VAT or excise tax over the next five years. Moreover, there's no study under consideration about introducing income tax as well in the country."
International ratings agency S&P said in a note last month that some GCC countries could double VAT rate to 10 per cent mainly due to discrepancy between five per cent statutory and effective tax rate,
Tim Callen, International Monetary Fund's (IMF) mission chief to Saudi Arabia, also recently said that he doesn't see any increase in VAT from the five per cent rate for the next five years. "However, we have suggested that once VAT is successfully implemented and the people have got used to it, the rate could be increased in the future depending on the revenue needs of the individual country," said Callen.
The UAE is expected to earn Dh12 billion revenues from VAT in 2018 and Dh20 billion in the next year.